


A New Beginning

by notjustmom



Series: A New Beginning [1]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-slash Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 10:22:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18259349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: This is my gift work for piratekingpitchblack for the IronStrange Haven Exchange. The prompt given was "Tony Stark is rescued by the Ancient One after the events of either Civil War or some other disaster. Strange is charged with helping and teaching Tony the mystic ways."In this verse, it is after Doctor Strange's battle with Dormammu, but the Ancient One survived, and Mordo is still at Kamar-Taj, and still Strange's teacher. The Ancient One finds Tony in Siberia and brings him back to Kamar-Taj, so he can heal and begin to train with Strange.





	1. Chapter 1

“Master Strange.”

“Wong said you wished to see me, Ancient One?”

“You are aware we have a new student.”

“I am.”

The Ancient One heard his opinion in his voice and waited for him to continue.

“If I may speak plainly?”

“When have you ever not?”

“I understand you brought him here, he did not make the journey on his own, he did not seek this place out - you do know who he is, Ancient One?”

“I do watch CNN from time to time, Master Strange.”

“So you are aware of his -”

“Arrogance, pride, skepticism. Sound familiar?”

“Yes, but -”

“Master Strange. He was unable to make the journey on his own. He has, in the past, proven his worthiness, and I am aware of certain things, that you are not. I think you will find he will have as much to teach you as you will teach him.” 

She closed her eyes and he understood that there would be no further discussion on the subject. He bowed his head slightly, then turned away to search for his first student, Tony Stark.

 

“Mr. Stark.”

Tony blinked at the odd looking woman in bright yellow robes who seemed to have materialized from thin air, until he noticed the golden ring of light behind her, and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Rogers and Barnes had landed a few good punches to his head, so it seemed a fair question when he murmured to the vision in front of him, “am I dead?”

“No, Mr. Stark, but if you stay here much longer, without medical attention, I am afraid you will be shortly. You have no reason to trust me, but I am here to help you, unless you have made alternate travel plans?”

In spite of the pain he was in, he managed to offer her a lopsided smirk, then shook his head. “No, no alternate escape route discovered as yet.” He squinted at her, then nodded. “I know you, seen you somewhere, before, or maybe I’ve just been hit in the head too many times -”

“Mr. Stark, I have also been aware of you for some time. I am offering you a choice. I can help you to return home, or I can offer you a place where you can rest and begin to heal, perhaps learn a new way to be in the world.”

Tony coughed, then looked into her eyes and nodded at the portal behind her. “I am assuming that light behind you is part of this ‘new way?’ I think you know I have done things, there are things I have seen -”

“I am aware.”

“I don’t want to go home.”

She nodded and carefully helped him to his feet, then half carried him through the portal and into a small room in the Kamar-Taj complex. “It is less than you are accustomed to, and yet, I think you will find more here. You may leave at any time, though I do not think you will. I will send someone to treat your injuries, and soon thereafter, you will meet your teacher. I think you will find him interesting.”

 

Stephen knocked on the door and at the grunted out, “yeah,” entered to find Tony sitting on the edge of the single bed, shivering, but he sensed it wasn’t from the temperature in the room.

“Mr. Stark?”

“Guilty.” He looked up to see Stephen studying him carefully. 

“You’ve been through the wars,” Stephen commented lightly, as he took note of the tremor in Tony’s left hand, his tightly wrapped chest, right arm in a sling, and bruises that liberally covered his face and shoulders.

“A few,” Tony acknowledged, then searched Stephen’s face and muttered, in a somewhat surprised voice, “you’re Strange. I mean, you’re Stephen Strange. Neurosurgeon.” He saw Stephen start slightly and he shrugged. “I keep an eye on tech, not just tech that concerns my field, but in general, and specifically, you were the best, until your accident. Two years ago now?”

“I know who you are, too.”

“Yeah, kinda hard to avoid the headlines, unless you live under a rock.” Tony snorted, then tried to get to his feet.

Stephen shook his head and eased him back down on the bed. “You should be resting. If she brought you here, she has her reasons.”

“You don’t agree with my being here.”

“Honestly?”

Tony shrugged. “A little honesty would be nice, sure, but why should you be any different than anyone else?”

“I don’t agree with you being here.”

“There, how hard was that?” Tony smirked at him, then ran his fingers through his hair and Stephen couldn’t help but smile, in spite of himself. “Can I ask you a question?”

Stephen nodded.

“Why here? Seems an odd place for a man of your sensibilities.”

“What do you know of my sensibilities?”

“I’ve read your papers, you were on the brink of using nanotech -”

“I was still years away. Those articles, they like to conflate things, in order to have something to write about.”

“From what I know of you, you aren’t a modest man, but you are an honest one, Strange.”

Strange shrugged and dropped into the chair next to the bed. “I was months from beginning a study - ironically enough - if successful, might have helped people like me.” He held up his hands and Tony could see the scars and the tremors that unlike the intermittent twitch in his left hand, Strange’s were constant. 

“I’m sorry.” The words were simply and honestly spoken and took Stephen by surprise. 

He blinked at the man who sat in front of him, then narrowed his eyes at him, as if adjusting his perspective might help him to reorganize his thoughts, and cleared his throat. “Is there someone you wish to reach back home, to let them know where you are?” He had almost said, to let them know you are alright, when he realized the other man was anything but, and not just because of his obvious physical injuries. There was something more, something deeper that he already sensed would be difficult to address.

“There is no one, no one who would care. No, that’s not true, there’s a kid, a kid I was attempting to mentor, so he wouldn’t make the mistakes I made. He’s better off -”

“Don’t you think you owe -” His words trailed off as he saw anger flash through the warm brown eyes for the first time, and saw a shadow of the man who had blasted out of an Afghanistan cave after three months of captivity.

“I don’t owe anyone, anything, Strange,” he growled out roughly under his breath. 

His voice turned soft again as if from exhaustion, yet Stephen heard the tamped down rage just beneath the surface. “In my own time, I will let the kid know that I’m okay, but that’s my business. When you came here, were you thinking of anyone else but yourself? No. I didn’t think so. The only reason you came here was because you believed it was your last chance to save your hands. You were willing to do anything to get back to your life. I have no life to go back to, not really. Don’t think you know anything about me, Strange. Because you don’t.” He gingerly stretched out on the bed again and Stephen could hear a muffled grunt of pain as he rolled over to face the other wall, and he knew he had failed his first test as a teacher. 

 

“He is not a test for you to pass or fail, Master Strange.”

“Why me? Mordo would be a better choice.”

“No. He and Mordo would be an unmitigated disaster. Mordo has a way of seeing things, he is very much what you Americans would call a ‘strict Constitutionalist?’ He was perfect for you, because he was able to show you that your way of thought was not the only way, and you have successfully been able to bridge our ways, without losing sight of your own philosophy, your unique way of bending the rules ever so slightly. You think I don’t notice. I do. I notice everything.”

Stephen nodded, then poured out a cup of tea and handed it to her. He sat back down and waited for her to continue.

“Mr. Stark has survived physical trauma that should have killed him, not just once but several times over, from the time he was captured in Afghanistan until three days ago, when I brought him here from Siberia. Physical trauma and pain he is used to, his deeper issue has always been one of trust. Trust in those around him, but more importantly, his faith in himself has been eroding for years now. He is a man of great ability, like yourself, and also a man who has seen even more than I -”

“What do you mean,‘seen’?” Stephen asked quietly, then blew on his own tea before sipping it.

“You recall the attack on New York?”

“Of course, we didn’t stop working for days -”

“He prevented the annihilation of Manhattan, if not the planet when he flew that warhead through the wormhole. He survived the fall back to Earth, which he should not have. In fact, for a moment or two he would have been declared dead if he had been taken to your hospital, and yet, he lives. These are things you can learn from old news clips on YouTube, or you can wait for him to tell you.”

“He won’t.”

“Don’t be too sure, Master Strange. Give him time to seek you out. He feels he has lost everything. And I don’t mean his cars and billions, he has lost the certainty that he is needed. 

He is a man who has sacrificed everything to protect his world, time and time again. Perhaps, at times he has overreached, but with the best of intentions. To find he is without a place; essentially to discover he is without a home, a family, would be at the very least unsettling to most people. For a man of his skillset and temperament, it is dangerous. He needs to find a way back to himself, and you are the person he needs to help him get there. No, it will not be easy for either of you, it will take patience -”

“Ancient One, I am not -”

“I am quite aware of your shortcomings, Master Strange. This will be the first of many lessons; as I said, he will be your teacher as much as you will be his. Do not try to be his friend. He needs someone who will help him to see himself, even stripped of everything he thinks he is, even with all his flaws, as someone who is still very much needed.”

Stephen put down his cup and sighed. “How do I go about doing that, Ancient One?”

“Follow his lead. Pay attention, Master Strange. Patience.” She put her cup aside and closed her eyes, and he took his leave of her.

Mordo chuckled as he walked into the room. “Are you sure Strange is the right man for the job, Ancient One?”

She nodded. “He is the only one who will be able to reach him.”

“Will it, will they be enough?”

“They will have to be, won’t they?”


	2. Chapter 2

Stephen paused the video clip at the moment the Hulk caught Stark in mid-air, then let it play forward slowly. He had somehow found a way to slow down their momentum just enough as he flipped onto his back, as if to protect - 

“Ah, my greatest hits.” Tony leaned against the doorway of Stephen’s modest room, and nodded at the screen. ”That one was taken by a girl from one of the few buildings that escaped being damaged too badly, just a few windows were broken. She makes documentaries now, I put her through film school. 

Out of all of them, I miss Bruce the most. When he’s not an enormous green rage monster, he’s more of a genius than you and me put together, and one of the most genuine people I know.”

Stephen closed his laptop and turned to face him. 

“I had no expectations of surviving that -” he nodded at the laptop. “I didn’t do it to be a hero. I did it because it needed to be done, and I was the only one who could do it. I never did the things I did to be a hero. I didn’t need the notoriety, or money, I had plenty of both before I went to Afghanistan, but that place -” He stopped and shook his head. “Damn. You’re good, Strange. Better than the fifteen therapists I’ve had over my life. None of them realized all they had to do was shut up and I’d talk their ears off for days.”

“Tell me about Afghanistan?”

“Why?”

“I’m curious.”

Tony snorted. “You know what they say about curiosity.” He shrugged, then moved slowly into the room, and raised an eyebrow at the empty chair. Stephen nodded, and he eased down onto it and adjusted the sling on his arm as he tried to get comfortable. “I wasn’t alone. There was a guy, Yinsen. Ho Yinsen. Yeah, his name should be familiar to you. They had invaded his village, and when they realized who he was, knew he could be of use; luckily for me, they took him. Later, I found out they had wiped out his entire family. I wouldn’t be here now without him. When they kidnapped me - killed all those kids - to get to me - they used one of my missiles, and one of the warheads landed a bit too close to me, it went off - left shrapnel in my chest. Yinsen removed what he could - put an electromagnet in my chest to keep the rest of it out of my heart. He’s the only reason I was able to escape, and I made him a promise, promised him I wouldn’t waste my life. Because of him, I felt obliged to do something more, something different with my life, after what I saw, I couldn’t go back to who and what I had been before. I should have died in that cave, Strange, and there are days when I believe the world would have been better off if I had.”

“You honestly believe that?”

“I do. I was responsible for a chain of events that wouldn’t have happened -”

“A bit arrogant, don’t you think?”

“Maybe so, but that wormhole over New York, the one that allowed the Chitauri through? It was because of my tower, the tower I was able to power only because I was able to reconstruct my father’s work in order to stop using the Palladium that had been slowly killing me - Sokovia - that was me - leading inevitably to the Accords and -”

“Were you wrong?”

“Which time? It depends who you ask, but I think most people would say -”

“I’m asking you, Stark. Were you wrong?”

Tony looked down at his hand, the hand that was in spasm again and shook his head. “Honestly, Strange, I don’t know.”

“Yes. You do. If you could go back, knowing what you know now -”

“A big if there, Doc. Mind if I call you Doc?”

Stephen shrugged, then shook his head.

“Even if I knew what the consequences of my actions would be - I probably would have done what I had done in the past, maybe not in precisely the same way, maybe I would have asked for help when I needed it, earlier and more often. But, you’re right, I would have tried one way or another, the things I attempted to do, because I believed it was the right thing at the time. I just wish -”

“You wish, what?”

“I had broken a few less eggs in the process. It all cost too much -” He moved to adjust the sling as it slipped, and swore as he twisted just enough to remind him that he had ribs. He blinked at Stephen, and perhaps realized how much he had shared in the last three and a half minutes. “I’m - I need to -”

Stephen nodded and watched as Stark slowly maneuvered off the chair, and propelled himself out the door, without a backward glance.

 

Mordo shook his head as he took Strange down again, far too easily. “Not focused today, Strange.” He helped him to his feet then asked quietly, “your student?”

“Hmm. How did you - ?”

Mordo shook his head again. “No, you and he are very similar in temperament, and intelligence. You both have faced death in ways that very few mortals have, though he sees himself as responsible for many of the casualties his battles with death have left behind. He needs to find a way to deal with his guilt, and finally recognize and accept his gifts, and his true self. I know it is difficult not to sit in judgment, it is what we are programmed to do, after all, as human beings. As I think you have sensed already, he has many doubts about himself, which is a sign of the greatness to come. I remember your own misgivings when you arrived here, as do you, I believe?

“Yes, of course, not easily forgotten, as you like to remind me of those times when it serves. I’m still not sure I am the best teacher -”

“I know you are ready, my friend. Trust your instincts. At times, they may lead you astray, but you have learned much in your time here, and I think in the short time he has been here, already, he intrigues you?”

“Yes.” Strange felt his face begin to warm slightly, and he turned away. “Yes, he does. Tomorrow, Master Mordo?”

Mordo bowed in his direction. “Tomorrow, Master Strange.”

 

“Stark.”

“Huh? Doc? Wha - damn it. Sorry, I didn’t wake you, did I?” Tony rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly as he looked around his surroundings and remembered where he was, then leaned against the headboard of his bed and muttered, “I haven’t slept this much in years. I always had something to do, some tech I could tinker with, or something on the armor or Peter’s suit would need updating - hell. I was going to email him today. What time is it, anyway?”

“Around seven in the evening here, so about quarter past eight in the morning in New York. Do you have nightmares often?”

Tony shook his head. “Mostly because I don’t allow myself to sleep all that often. I know, it’s stupid, but there are things I see, things I still have trouble believing, except I was there, saw them with my own eyes, and I don’t usually see them unless I try to sleep.” He threw his legs over the side of his bed, and slowly got to his feet. “Did I miss dinner?”

“No, it’s why I heard you call out, I was heading to the hall, and passed by your room, I thought you might be hungry. Perhaps you can email him after you eat.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll do that. I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to tell him that I won’t be around anymore.”

“You can always -”

Tony glanced up at Stephen and shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll be going back, Strange. Honestly, I’m just tired. I’ve been -” He nodded at the remains of the Iron Man armor in the corner of his room and rolled his eyes. “Him - or dealing with the aftermath of being him for ten years now. I’m not sure I know how to be anything, or anyone else, anymore.”

“What if you were just Tony Stark?”

He snorted, then laughed until tears ran down his face, then paused and shrugged carefully. “Not sure I even know who that is, Doc. Not sure I want to know to tell you the truth.”

“Have you seen our library yet?”

Tony nodded. If he noticed that Stephen changed the subject on purpose he didn’t say anything. “Wong. The strong, silent type?”

“Actually has a decent sense of humor once you get to know him. Maybe before you email Peter I can show you around, give you some primers to start with.”

“Sure, Doc. I noticed I’ll need to brush up on my dead languages, not a lot of spy novels in there.”

“There are quite a few actually, Wong has a private stash, he got hooked on Tom Clancy novels a while back, maybe once you’ve been here a while, he’ll offer to share.”

Tony laughed and shook his head as they walked through the courtyard, then glanced up at the sky, and froze. His breath caught, then he whispered, “haven’t seen the stars so clearly since - sorry.” He slowly went to his knees, and Stephen followed.

“Breathe, just breathe, Stark. You’re safe here.” Stephen laid a trembling hand on Tony’s shoulder, then shivered as he felt Tony’s hand cover his. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched his hand in quite the same way. Maybe Christine, before -

Tony didn’t pull away in revulsion, but held on until he was able to recover his breath again, and he whispered, “we all have scars, Doc. They’re just a reminder of what we have faced, and lived through, reminds us we are survivors, even when we aren’t quite sure why.” Slowly, he got to his feet, bringing Stephen with him. “Thanks, Doc. And no, I’m not on any drugs for it, never was, should’ve been probably, but I don’t really trust doctors. Surgeons, don’t mind them so much, they’ve done me some good, but the ones who try to get inside your head, don’t care for them. Damn, I’m starving. What I wouldn’t give for a cheeseburger, or three.”

“I can check with the chef, see what I can do.”

Tony snorted and shook his head. “It’s, what, Wednesday? I saw the schedule, Monday - green vegetarian muck, Tuesday, that wasn’t bad, last night - some sort of curry. Wednesday, let me see - no, don’t tell me - grey vegetarian soup?”

“Split Pea.”

“Really?”

“Bread isn’t bad though, and the ale -”

“Yeah, the ale is passable. You guys make it yourself?”

“It’s the Ancient One’s hobby.”

“Everyone needs at least one, I suppose.”


	3. Chapter 3

To: pparker2001@gmail.com  
From: stark_im@stark.com

Hey kiddo -

I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch lately. 

Tony paused and stretched out his left hand, then shrugged out of the sling on his right arm and looked down at his hands. The hands that had been responsible for so much - were now shaking uncontrollably. Focus, damn it.

I wanted to thank you again for having my back in Germany. I appreciate it. Thing is, I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical. I’m not sure when I’ll be home, but you can reach me here, if you want to talk, whatever. Just don’t do anything I would do - or anything I wouldn’t. I know, you want to protect everyone you care about, just make sure you watch out for you. You are a good kid, Pete, just don’t forget to be a kid when you can. You can’t save the world all by yourself. I know. I tried.

He sat back in his chair and swore at himself under his breath as he reread what he had just typed out. “Nope.” He deleted everything and tried again.

Pete - 

I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical. Not sure when I’ll be home, but you can always send me emails. If anyone asks about me, just tell them I’m on vacation.

Take care, kiddo.

\- Tony

Good. Short and to the point. Sounds like me, the me of two weeks ago. Right? Right. Good. God, you’re an ass, Stark. He looked around the room and sighed. Selfish. He’d always been accused of being self-centered in the past, and now? Now that he’d removed himself from the world, that was selfish? Shit. You are a mess, Stark. He pressed send, then closed the laptop and picked up the primer on Sanskrit that Stephen had added to the top of his stack of books, and sighed. You’re getting a bit long in the tooth to learn new tricks, buddy. What the hell.

 

Stephen found himself outside Tony’s room a few hours later after he had been startled out of a rare few hours of sleep by a nightmare of his own. Technically, it was his nightmare, but it was of Tony tumbling from the wormhole, and he had the sense he was Tony in those moments, and he needed to be sure he was okay. 

He shook his head in disbelief as he found Tony fast asleep at his desk, the book open in his lap and his head resting on his left hand, the sling had been tossed aside. He rolled his eyes and managed to stifle a groan as he realized that Tony had read through nearly half of the primer and had started copying down letters and phrases on a scrap piece of paper he had found; even in his shaky hand, it was clear he was dealing with someone not unlike himself. As Mordo had said, as different as they seemed to be, they were very much alike in how they interacted with the world around them. He carefully lifted the book from Tony’s lap, placing it on the desk open to the place where he had stopped, then gently helped him to his feet and into bed. As he was turning off the lamp, he heard a yawn and a mumbled out, “thank you, Strange,” and he turned to see Tony close his eyes again, then roll over onto his less damaged side, and pull the lightweight blanket over himself as he went back to sleep. Stephen walked towards the door, then stopped at the doorway and turned to watch over his student until he heard a rumble of a snore, and he whispered out before he could stop himself, “rest well, my friend.”

Friend. He swore to himself as he walked back to his room and closed the door. The Ancient One had already warned him against making such a connection with Stark, and yet, there was something that drew him to the man. Obviously intelligent, seemingly fearless to the point of recklessness, his absurd sense of humor, or at least a decent appreciation for the absurd, and something in his eyes, each time he sensed he was being observed, he felt - what, exactly? Something as yet undetermined. Perhaps later he could work it out. Mordo was right, he needed to refocus, but for now he needed to go back to sleep.

 

“Mr. Stark.”

“Ancient One.” Tony made a note of where he was in the text he was studying and put it aside before he stood and bowed to her. “What brings you to my humble abode?”

“As you were, Mr. Stark.”

He remained standing, as he had been studying for hours and needed to work out the kinks in his back. He waited patiently for her to get to the point of her visit and was not disappointed.

“You have already made quite an impression on our Master Strange, as I knew you would.”

“And he has upon me, as I think you know.”

“I am aware.” She offered him a rare, brief smile and took note of his reading material. “Already reading our history, I see.”

“I like to know who I’m dealing with.” After a moment he reseated himself and carefully turned his chair in order to face her. “To be honest, I haven’t read that far, but already I sense I’m an odd choice -”

“Because we seem to be a peaceful cult?” She raised an eyebrow at him and her smile broadened, as he looked away and shrugged. “Compared to the rest of the world, yes, but do not let the robes and tea and as you called it, green vegetarian muck, blind you to what we do here. 

You are still an Avenger, whether you wear the armor or not, whether you choose to see yourself in that light or not any longer, it is essentially who you are. You are a warrior, as you always were, even before you blasted yourself out of that cave. I know you doubt yourself right now, that you believe you should have found other ways to defeat the darkness that you alone have seen.”

“I couldn’t make them understand,” Tony whispered as he looked down at his hands, and swore as his right hand cramped up.

The Ancient One rested her hands on his, and he closed his eyes as he felt himself let go of some of the doubts he had been holding onto for so long. “We exist to fight the darkness, and have managed for thousands of years, to keep it in check for the most part. For the last few hundred years, it has become more difficult. I know you hold yourself responsible for much of what has happened over the last few years, and you wonder if the world would have been better off if you had never escaped from that cave. 

No, he has not shared any of your conversations with me, though it is good that you have learned to trust him so far already. I admit, you are a bit of a challenge, Mr. Stark, but I expected no less from you. I have lived long enough to know when I see someone who questions why he still exists, when he believes he has failed more often than not. I can tell you, Mr. Stark, that the events that you believe you put into motion would have occurred with or without you. The reason so many have survived these events was because you were there to stop them from becoming far worse. Someone else would have eventually created something like Ultron, but only you would have believed in yourself enough to create Vision from its wreckage. Without Vision, the events in Sokovia would have led to a planet-killing catastrophe, and I believe if you think about it, you know I’m correct.” 

She removed her hands from his and he blinked up at her. “Now, you were absent at breakfast, I’m assuming it was because you were studying; you will not heal by knowledge alone, Mr. Stark. I believe the lunch is quite edible today, it’s the lighter shade of green vegetarian muck.”

He stood again and bowed deeply to her and raised an eyebrow in surprise as she returned the bow. “You may be but a student here, Mr. Stark, but you are a master in your own right. You must learn to accept the respect you are due.” She nodded at him, then left his room without another word.

 

“Wong.”

“Stark.” Wong shook his head as Tony pushed forward the pile of books that he had taken out three days earlier. “Another one.”

“Sorry?”

“You and Strange. Don’t tell me -”

“Photographic memory.”

“Hmmph.”

“Tell me about him.”

“Strange?”

“I’m just curious -”

“He is still learning, as you are, and he has faced his own battles and nightmares, as you have. He will make mistakes as he guides your training, as you will make errors in testing the boundaries here, as he once did and continues to on a regular basis.”

Tony grinned. “I can imagine.”

Wong stopped checking the books abruptly and looked up at him. “I have the sense that you believe what we do here is merely advanced sleight of hand or smoke and mirrors. I assure you, the mystic arts are not to be taken lightly, Mr. Stark.”

“I don’t. Long before the Ancient One rescued me from Siberia, I had seen things, you might call them visions. I knew of this place, your library. The Ancient One. For the last few years, I have had dreams that I couldn’t make sense of, I had no context for any of it, until I came here. I didn’t choose to come here as a holiday, or to avoid the mess of the life I left behind, whether you believe that or not, that is up to you. I want -” He stopped and shrugged and he hesitated before he went on carefully. “To be honest. I’m not quite sure what it is that I want. I’m not sure it matters.”

Wong studied him in silence, then rolled his eyes. “Come with me, Stark.” Tony followed him out the heavy doors that protected Kamar-Taj and covered his head with his hood. “It doesn’t matter if you wear the hood or not, they can’t see you.” 

Tony lowered his hood and watched as the stream of people walked past him, or through him, as if he weren’t there.

“You aren’t. I just wanted to give you an idea of the people you have saved over the years. I know you feel responsible -”

“I am, I was -”

“You have saved far more than you know. You prevented many scenarios that could have come to pass, and not for the better. Stark. You need to learn to forgive yourself, before you consider anyone else. You have spent too many hours worrying about your legacy. People will always choose to think the worst and best of those who have the power to change the world as you have. I sense you have done more good than not. Look around you, Stark.”

Tony stopped and spun around slowly, and watched a girl sitting quietly with a book, then she looked up and appeared to see him, and he raised his hand, then he realized she was seeing through him to a boy who was smiling shyly at her, and he closed his eyes. He listened to the rumble of sounds of life around him for a moment, then opened his eyes again and glanced over at Wong. “Thank you, Wong.”

Wong nodded, then led Tony back through the doors of Kamar-Taj, and into the courtyard. “You have a bit of time, Stark, and then you will need to decide.”

“Decide?”

“What it is you want, and where you will stand when the time comes.”

Tony searched Wong’s face then managed a half-hearted smirk as he knew the time was soon approaching, and the librarian turned on his heel and left him alone with his thoughts.

 

To: stark_im@stark.com  
From pparker_2001@gmail.com

Hi, Mr. Stark,

It’s good to hear from you. You’ve been in the news for a while, people wondering where you are. I’m glad you’re safe. School is going well. I’m still patrolling, doing my best to keep the neighborhood safe, but it’s not as exciting as Germany. If you ever need me again, just let me know.

Pete

 

Stephen knocked on Tony’s door, and at a mumbled, “yeah,” entered the room. He stopped short as he saw that he’d caught Tony trying to shave for the first time. “I’m sorry for interrupting.”

“It’s fine. Just trying to clean up and my fingers aren’t cooperating. Feeling a bit -”

“Scruffy?” Stephen asked, not unkindly.

“Yeah, that. You seem like you get by okay.”

“Practice. Like everything else around here. Practice and patience. Patience is not one of my natural virtues, but I’ve had some time to learn. I can help if you like.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at their reflections, but then shrugged and handed over the razor and closed his eyes. Stephen paused for the briefest of moments, then understood the leap of faith Tony was taking, and began the slow process of helping him learn to trust again.

 

“Sling ring?” Tony asked, then watched as Stephen created a portal in front of him and he crossed his arms, then shook his head. “Uh-uh. Nope. I don’t like it when people hand me things and I don’t go through anything that looks like a wormhole.”

Stephen closed the portal and rolled his eyes. “Tony, you traveled through a portal to get here, remember? And you will learn to control where the portal takes you, it just takes -”

“Practice?”

“Practice. I know it seems -”

“Irrational and ridiculous?” Tony grinned at him then, and Stephen could see beyond the battle scars and past betrayals to the man who just might have enough light left to save the universe, just as the Ancient One had foreseen.

Stephen nodded and laid a trembling hand over Tony’s chest and closed his eyes as he felt the trembling slowly subside and still for the first time in years as he felt Tony’s heartbeat in his fingertips. Tony flinched, then took a breath as he covered Stephen’s fingers with his own steady hand and whispered, “teach me, Doc, teach me how to believe again.”


End file.
